Folding furniture, generally, is well known and has been used a long time. A general objective of folding furniture is ease of storage and portability, i.e., the furniture can be set-up for use and then folded down for transport and/or storage in a space of smaller volume than what the furniture occupies in its set-up condition. Additionally, it is desirable that such folding furniture can be folded to a compact size, and preferably in one-piece, for transport and storage, as the larger the space taken up or the more pieces to keep track of are not desirable features.
Shades are also generally known and have been used a long time. The general intent of shades is to provide cover from sun and/or rain for a user when outdoors. However, there exists a challenge to incorporate shades with folding furniture due to the shade's interference with the objective of keeping the ease of storage and portability of the folding furniture.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a collapsible shade for use with portable and collapsible articles of furniture that can be collapsed with the article of furniture in order to reduce the space occupied by the furniture in a folded condition, without complicating the collapsing of the article of furniture. Further, there is a need for such a collapsible shade for use with an article of furniture that can be folded with minimal effort, without limiting or compromising the structural features permitting use and set-up of the article of furniture and/or the shade. Further, there is a need for a collapsible shade that can be adjusted, as desired, without compromising the folding and transport or the shade and/or the article of furniture to which it is attached. Still further, there is a need for a collapsible shade that can be retrofitted for use with a variety of portable and collapsible articles of furniture, and which may be folded with the article of furniture without affecting its use or set-up. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a collapsible shade for use with foldable and portable articles of furniture that overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with folding shades and folding furniture, and therefore significantly improves the utility of such furniture in the set-up condition while permitting easy transportation and/or storage in a collapsed condition.